D&O Discourse’s 5th Anniversary

In my law practice, I defend particular clients in particular securities and governance cases. My mission is to get them through the litigation safely and comfortably.

But I’ve always had a broader interest in securities law and practice as well. After Congress passed the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, I read and chronicled every Reform Act court decision over the next several years. As a senior associate and, later, a junior partner, I wrote articles, helped my mentors prepare for speeches, and then started speaking myself. I also began to discuss securities litigation issues behind the scenes with other defense lawyers, plaintiffs’ lawyers, and D&O insurers and brokers, and enjoyed the collegiality those discussions involved.

My connection with this broader group of repeat players in securities litigation was the seed of the D&O Discourse blog—my posts are basically the types of discussions I’ve had over the years. In setting up the blog, I got good advice from mentors: write with at least one specific person in mind; address issues I care about; and avoid trying to chronicle new developments. That advice led to the feature of the blog people seem to like the most: I call it like I see it. But, to be candid about this too, I get butterflies every time I hit “enter” to send a pointed post out into the insensitive internet.

I’m grateful for the time my colleagues let me spend on the blog; for friends who generously take time to kick around draft posts; and for readers who take time to read what I write—it’s still humbling that so many people care what I have to say.

People sometimes ask me about my favorite posts. Here is a list of one of my favorite posts from each year of the blog:

Lane Powell Blogs

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About our Securities Litigation Group

Our securities litigators are among the most respected and experienced practitioners in the profession. Our Firm has a culture of hands-on case management, so our partners closely supervise and actively work on our cases. We were recently ranked the second busiest securities practice in the nation, as published in the Law360 Litigation Almanac. We have also been highly ranked in the U.S. News and Best Lawyers annual “Best Law Firms” survey. We founded and publish the blog D&O Discourse, the first and only opinion-based blog written from a securities litigation defense perspective..